KAYSVILLE -- The construction of snow globes became a teaching moment for a group of girls and women learning about technology and trades.
The event "Women in Trades & Technology" took place at the new Barlow building on the Davis Applied Technology College and was jointly sponsored by the DATC, Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College and Weber State University. The women attending were divided into groups to attend workshops where they learned what it takes to work in seven different fields.
Each participant wound wire around a tool to make it into a spring before having it soldered onto tiny red and green lights. The wires were also attached to a battery before being placed inside the snow globe.
Kasidie Hill worked carefully with small wires to put the lights inside a clear globe where an aluminum snowman had been placed. A student at Layton High School, she plans to study culinary arts, but really enjoyed learning more about women in non-traditional roles.
"This is a great experience. It shows me women can do as much as men can do," said Kasidie.
DATC student Steve West showed how the red base of the globe base was made with composite material in a mold. The women learned that composite is an old industry with new life. Composites are used in many products, including race cars, snow boards, motorcycles, boats, tennis rackets, Lagoon rides, bridge repairs and many other things, said Pat Crookston, who teaches composites at DATC.
"You can double your salary if you go into a field that is male-dominated," Crookston said.
Fifteen-year-old Amanda Shepherd, a student at Mound Fort Middle School in Ogden, carefully placed stickers on the top of the globe as well as around the snowflakes attached to the base. An instructor showed the students how the stickers were made by using computer programs Photoshop and Illustrator.
"This is really good. My teacher asked me if I wanted to come," said Amanda Shepherd.
In the machine shop, a machine was programmed to cut a piece of aluminum into the shape of Frosty the Snowman. The piece was then taken to another machine where a hole was drilled into the bottom for the screw which holds the snowman in place in the globe.
The group also learned about how to become a welder. Lauren Spratt worked in construction management before becoming a welder and now she teaches welding at Ogden-Weber ATC.
Others told of becoming engineers and of computer drafting. Each job represented is dominantly filled by men, but women are beginning to work in those fields.
"It is gratifying to be a woman in a man's trade," said Sabrina Yorganson, a plumber who was among a panel of women in non-traditional trades who talked about their trades. "It is cheap schooling to make really big bucks."
But Yorganson said she had to work to gain respect in a man's world.
"When I first started, no one would even let me pick up a pipe," she said.
Concheta Defa worked as an electrician for 15 years and found it rewarding work.
"Every day there is something new," she said. She is now working as an estimator for jobs.
Weber State instructor Julie McCulley told the women to "find what your passion is and go for it."
"This is really entertaining. It is good to see different careers. Now I know I can do it. More doors are opening for women," said Weber High student Bailey Pollard, who is choosing between a career as an architect or one in psychology and criminal justice.
Emily Okerlund, region Careers in Technical Education pathway coordinator from the Wasatch Front North CTE Region, helped organize the three-school event.
"These are schools you might think would be in competition with each other," she said.
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